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California governor's office slammed for asking diners to wear masks in between bites: 'This is idiocy'

They had also tweeted the hashtag #SlowtheSpread along with a Covid-19 diner tip that read, 'Minimize the number of times you take your mask off'

The California governor's office took to Twitter to share that restaurant-goers should keep their face masks on while dining. In California, masks are mandatory for anyone who is stepping outside their home as well as for workers in customer-related businesses such as offices, factories, and healthcare professionals among many others, the state's Covid-19 guidance states. 

As per the guidance, Children under the age of 2 and those with breathing troubles or medical exemptions are the only ones who are permitted not to wear a face mask. Everyone else is required to have a face mask on in all indoor public places and also outdoors if they aren't keeping 6 feet of social distancing from each other. 

The California governor's office wrote on Twitter, "Going out to eat with members of your household this weekend? Don't forget to keep your mask on in between bites. Do your part to keep those around you healthy." They had also added the hashtag #SlowtheSpread along with a Covid-19 diner tip that read, "Minimize the number of times you take your mask off." 

The official guidance says that masks can be taken off for many reasons which include eating or drinking. However, the tweet seemed to offer different advice that left many social media users confused and angry. Many enraged Twitter users took to the microblogging site to slam the post. 

One user wrote, "Increasing the number of times you touch your face, constantly removing mask each time you take a bite? Any calculations done on how many 'bites' each individual takes in a meal and therefore how many hand-to-face contacts that will mean? Presume that has been risk-assessed?"

Another social media user commented, "Hi, CA resident here. I have no problem wearing a mask. I’ll do it in the grocery store. Hell I’ll gladly wear it at the gym. But if I’m at a table with my family and appropriately distanced from others THERE’S NO CHANCE IN HELL I’M WEARING A MASK BETWEEN BITES. YOU’RE INSANE!"

"Not only is that completely stupid, but it's contradictory! You're saying both to keep your mask on between bites and minimize the number of time you remove it. You remove it when you sit down and you put it back on when you leave. So that's removing it one time!" commented another user.  

Yet another social media user, who echoed the same sentiments, wrote: "This...This contradicts your own graphic. Is it minimize the amount of times you touch your mask? Or mask up in between every bite? (Asking for a friend because I’m not eating at restaurants.)"

"I have followed social distancing and mask guidelines since the start of the pandemic. I have worked from home since March 5. I waited for 3 months for my parents to meet my newborn baby because of this pandemic and trying to respect CDC guidelines. But, this is idiocy. Sorry," commented another. 

In California's published guidance for dining in restaurants, wearing a mask in between bites has not been spoken of or mentioned at all. Many counties in California are also limiting indoor restaurants to 25% of normal capacity, and are only allowing outdoor dining.